Dark Times
by Amanda N. Lupin
Summary: Dark times can bring people together, it can tear them apart..." AU, Post DH When an attack on Hermione by rogue Deatheaters exposes a secret life with Remus. Will the disbanded Order be able to accept it and come together once more to protect them?
1. Chapter 1

"Hermione, Sweetheart, you home?" Remus asked in a sing-song voice as he entered the house, hanging up his coat. Gods he was still getting used to the idea, and it thrilled him; waking up beside her, coming home to her, having a 'home' at all, even now, he pinched himself to be sure it was not all some wonderful dream. He was married to Hermione Jane Lupin! She must be out running errands, he thought still unable to wipe the smile from his face.

Suddenly, he detected the smell of something burning. It wasn't like her to be negligent, but it seemed to be emanating from the kitchen. Perhaps she had simply bustled about the house doing other things and lost track of time. He thought it a bit peculiar at first, but now it was rather endearing that she stubbornly refused to use magic when she cooked. "Why would I want to set myself up to be so easily replaced by a bit of wood?" He chuckled, pushing open the door to the kitchen, his laughter dying instantly.

"Hermione!" he exclaimed looking horrified, her eyes flashed a warning for him to leave, but he ignored it, running to where she lay on the floor. She groaned softly as he gently pulled her body into his lap, stroking her hair with one hand, the other frantically searching every inch of the body he had come to know so well for injuries. "What happened? Who did this to you?" he asked, pulling her head closer to his breast. He wasn't any sort of doctor or healer, but gods above, there was so much blood on the tile floor around her. She opened her mouth, but seemed unable to form words, her eyes teared and she let out a great sob, grabbing his wrist and squeezing it tightly, as though letting go he might suddenly disappear. "I'm not going anywhere." he whispered in her ear. "I'm not going to leave you, never. I'm staying right here." he assured her softly. She was shaking her head, still crying, while he mopped the sweat from her forehead and kissed it.

Numbly with his free hand, he reached into the inside pocket of his robes and whipped out his wand. Summoning his memories of their first kiss, their wedding, of making love to her, he cast a patronus and prayed it would find someone who might help them, and quickly. She seemed still to be losing blood, although aside from the nasty bruises of a few curses he could not see any wounds. She suddenly convulsed and clutched her abdomen as more blood poured out onto the floor. "Hell of a period." he thought trying to find someway to lighten the room in which he could feel the walls closing in on him. Immediately he began to chastised himself, now was not the time to try and be funny. It was no good; that was what he had Hermione for, she always managed to see the positive, the good in everything, especially in him when he refused to see it in himself. He could see nothing good in this. He saw the happiness, the security, the love he had thought he would never find, slipping away through his fingers, wasting away in his arms. "Oh God." he cried suddenly, meeting her watery amber eyes. "Please for the love of Merlin hold on Hermione. Someone will come. Please hold on. Don't leave me," he begged, hugging her fiercely.


	2. Chapter 2

By the time members of the Order had begun apparating into the front yard of the small house hidden away in the countryside outside London, they were met by the loud unearthly wails of Remus Lupin and wolfish howls of unimaginable pain. He sat in the kitchen holding fast to Hermione' now limp body, for all the world convinced she was gone. It took Kingsley, Arthur and Tonks to pull him away from her so the healer could examine her.

"She has a pulse. It's thready, we need to get her to St. Mungo's immediately." the witch instructed the group. Remus let out a great shuddering gasp, looking irreverently skyward to whatever entity was now working on behalf of his wife. He apparated immediately behind the healer and Hermione' unconscious form, Arthur, Molly and Tonks, following behind him in close pursuit.

Remus paced impatiently back and forth in front of the nurse' station, wearing his path into the floor, while Molly, Arthur and Tonks looked helplessly on. Snape arrived a short while later and took a seat beside Nymphadora, pulling a now very distraught Tonks into his arms. Mr. Weasley held Molly in a similarly comforting embrace. He couldn't bear looking at them, he thought of how he had held Hermione in a similar embrace, then his vision became a sea of red thinking of all the blood on their kitchen floor, suddenly he covered his mouth, running to the nearest wastebasket, and vomited. He felt a reassuring hand on his back as he drew the back of his sleeve across his lips and straightened back up.

"Please come sit down dear." Molly urged softly, rubbing his back gently.

"I can't." he choked. "I need something, anything to do... I'm going mad just waiting here like this. When will we know anything?" he asked desperately, though he knew she no better knew that answer than he did himself. Snape stood up as Molly led him back to where they were all sitting.

"I'll go and see what information I can get from the healers." He offered. Had this been happening to anyone else, he would have been astonished, incredulous of his sudden change of heart for him, but he couldn't find the strength. Instead he managed to nod.

"Thank you." Tonks whispered softly, kissing Severus briefly. He nodded and strode quickly down the halls, robes billowing behind him as he searched for answers.

"I never guessed you and Hermione..." Molly whispered, after she had managed to coax the distraught man into a chair beside her.

"She was wearing a ring." Arthur added, looking down the row at him curiously. By now, even Tonks was eyeing him questioningly. Remus looked down at his own fidgeting, interlaced fingers, twisting his own ring on his finger absently, transfixed by the way it caught the light, like Hermione' eyes, he thought tearfully. He suddenly stood up so quickly it was as though the chair he had been seated in electrocuted him.

"Where is she?" he demanded of the the nurse at the counter. She cowered slightly. "Hermione Jean Lupin; which room is she in?" he shouted as she stood frozen. His three companions looked at each other confused, then back to Remus. Arthur seemed to have drawn the straw this time to help calm the werewolf down.

"Remus, please, they will let us know as soon as they can. Come sit."

"I want to see my wife." he growled, both at the witch and Mr. Weasley.


	3. Chapter 3

"_I want to see my wife." he growled, both at the witch and Mr. Weasley._

"I know you do." Arthur replied stoically, forcing himself not to react to the news, while the two witches behind him were heard to gasp audibly. "They will let us know as soon as they can." he repeated. "Please," he entreated, pointing to the chairs. "Sit down son, it would seem you have a lot to tell us." he urged. Finally, but with much reluctance, he sat back down in his seat.

"We were going to tell everyone when we met at the Burrow for Christmas." he whispered softly boring a hole into the tile floor as he stared most unhappily at it, fierce, silent tears streamed down his cheeks. "We hoped we could warm everyone else up to the idea; perhaps have another small ceremony for family and friends." he managed to choke out.

"When did that happen?" Molly asked, trying to hide her obvious surprise.

"After I offered to escort her home Easter." he supplied, somewhat guiltily.

"I feel so negligent, I never even realized that you two had romantic interests in each other."

"I loved her before it was ever appropriate, but I never thought she could feel the same tenderness towards me. I was older, poor, and a werewolf too, I never understood what a beautiful young woman like her could see in a dark broken creature like me." Tonks who had once some years back harbored a crush for the werewolf, looked both pitying and sympathetic.

"Mr. Lupin?" a medi-witch interrupted. "You can see your wife now." He jumped from his seat. Snape who had returned, and reclaimed his seat beside Tonsks, shot the rest of them a warning glance, indicating Remus should see her alone first.

"Which room?" Remus demanded.

"There's something you should know before you see her." the witch said reluctantly, as she escorted him down the hall. "About her condition."

"What was wrong with her? What happened?"

"She was attacked. We're waiting for her to regain a little bit more of her strength before we collect a full statement from her."

"Attacked?!? Attacked by whom?"

"We're not sure, it distressed her to recall the attack, so we didn't pressure her for details. What you should know is that she is relatively unharmed."

"What about all that blood? What did they do to her?"


	4. Chapter 4

"_What about all that blood? What did they do to her?"_

"She was nearly two months pregnant. Whoever attacked her..." the witch couldn't seem to finish, and Remus didn't need to hear the rest.

"Does she know?"

"No, we have not told her. We believe she might not even have been aware she was pregnant." he nodded, good, he thought brokenly. The witch left him, he pushed open the door.

"Remus." she whispered hoarsely smiling as she turned to face the opening door.

"Hermione." he whispered relieved, running to her bedside and falling to his knees, he grabbed her hand and kissed it.

"Who came?" she asked softly.

"Molly and Arthur, Severus and Dora, Kingsley apparated to the house, but he couldn't be relieved to come to the hospital. I'll have the others send an owl to let them know you are stable.

"So they all know."

"I'm afraid everyone will soon. I had a bit of an outburst in the lobby, when they wouldn't let me see you." she smiled weakly.

"Moony?" he nodded.

"Harry will be so angry I didn't tell him first." she whispered, eyes betraying her nervousness and worry.

"They would have all found out sometime Love." he comforted. "Harry loves you. Molly, Arthur, Tonks, Ron... they all love you. They could never be angry about something that makes you happy." It's me they'll want to eat alive, he thought darkly, for ruining her. "They will be pleased to know that you are alright. I was certain had lost you. Thank Merlin you are alright." he whispered softly into her chest as he held her. She burst into tears.


	5. Chapter 5

"_They would have all found out sometime Love." he comforted. "Harry loves you. Molly, Arthur, Tonks, Ron... they all love you. They could never be angry about something that makes you happy." It's me they'll want to eat alive, he thought darkly, for ruining her. "They will be pleased to know that you are alright. I was certain had lost you. Thank Merlin you are alright." he whispered softly into her chest as he held her. She burst into tears._

"Oh Remus," she sobbed miserably, hugging him tightly, in a different sort of bone-crushing hug than her usual ones, one much more desperate. "Remus, I was pregnant." she whispered brokenly. "The baby..." she trailed off sobbing profusely, wetting his cloak with her tears. So she knew. Oh god, she knew. He didn't shush her crying; she needed to let it out. He didn't tell her it was alright, nothing about it, from the moment he had smelt something burning in their kitchen had been.

"It's not your fault." he whispered softly, holding her in his arms. He knew even as he spoke words of comfort to her that they would do no good. She shook her head furiously, as louder sobs and renewed tears took over. He stood and in a moment had enchanted the hospital bed to grow before laying on it beside her, pulling her gently into his arms.

"They told me it was a monster. That I was one too for choosing a wolf as my mate." she choked out, still sobbing, clinging to him desperately. He continued to hold her, stroke her hair in comforting gesture, but felt his heart plummet. It wasn't her fault, it was his.

What a fool he had been thinking with Voldemort dead, everyone's bigotry might perish with him. What had he condemned her to by marrying her? And now the whole world would know she was his wife, his mate... What had he done? What else might she have to endure because of his impulsive foolishness? He held her still comforting her while he began silently cursing himself.

"I said I do, too you know. It's not your fault that terrible people exist." she whispered softly kissing his cheek, brushing a stray strand of his tawny gray-streaked hair from his sorrowful blue eyes. "Don't you dare shut me out Remus Lupin!" she admonished when he refused to meet her eyes. Finally he looked up.

"Merlin, now there's a glare even Minnie McGonagall would be proud of." he chuckled, she smiled and then giggled, hugging him again. "I'm sorry. It's just... When I think how much better off you might have been without..."

"Stop it." she interrupted firmly. "I love you. I can't imagine my life without you. I have never regretted marrying you. No, not even now."

"I should have been there... To protect you."

"You couldn't have known this would happen anymore than I could have predicted it." she soothed.

"Bloody hell, I'm supposed to be the one comforting you."

"We both lost something, we're comforting each other." She yawned her eyes becoming heavy. "Will you still be here when I wake up?"

"Let them try and explain the concept visiting hours to a protective werewolf." he chuckled smiling. She laughed softly.

"I love you Remus."

"I love you too Mrs. Lupin, now get some sleep."

"Mrs. Lupin." she smiled softly. "That's the first time you've ever called me that. I like it."

..........................

"Ah what a relief to see you are alright." Mrs. Weasley exhaled as she woke a few hours later.

"Where's Remus?" she asked immediately.

"Right here love." he soothed, grabbing and kissing her hand from the chair by her bedside.

"Hermione dear, we wondered, well I did," she corrected as her husband cleared his throat nervously. "If we might talk to you alone for a minute." Hermione glanced sidelong at Remus, hesitating, before nodding.

"I'll be right outside the door," he whispered in her ear, as he stooped in to kiss her forehead.

"Love you," she whispered back.


End file.
